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With all the official and technical information out of the way, we can get down to the real world review on what we think of the idea of network storage, and also the DNS-6040M unit itself. Our review machine arrived in a massive box, and contained the DNS-6040M unit, x2 power cords, small instruction book and a bag of various screws and clips. There was supposed to be a CD with software applications on it as well, but the previous tester must have forgotten to enclose it with the box. Not to worry, we checked out D-Links FTP site and downloaded the prep software and the full manual. It was only once we started to read the manual that we found that there was another program we required to allow us to sync the client desktops with the DNS-6040M, but it was not on the FTP site. We called D-Link technical support to explain the situation, but where then pointed to the FTP site to get the files. We explained that he file we wanted was not there, and then had our telephone number taken and told that we would be called back....We never did get any call back, but we did do some more calls and eventually we got the required file emailed through to us.
As you can see, the DNS-6040M is a full size rack mountable unit and even with no drives in it, this is one very heavy unit to carry.
The front of the DNS-6040M unit is pretty empty, though the flashing LED's make it look like it's doing something important, even when it's not! The front does feel a little slack when you wiggle it, but the lock on the front of the case does hold it securely. It would have been nicer if the LED's had been a little larger as it's always nice to see things flickering away, glowing, so that we know everything is running (or not) the way it should be.
The rear view shows the dual network connections and (in this model) the dual redundant power supplies. The DNS-6040M comes as standard with one power supply, so it's worth getting the extra one if you feel that power may be an issue in your premises. As you can probably see as well, there are enough small fans there to keep your ears rattled for a long time... closing the patch cabinet certainly does bring peace once this unit is up and running.
The drives we used are just a couple that we had handy, they are NOT ones featured on the compatibility list that is on the d-link ftp site. At the time of writing this we are not too sure on the issues surrounding drives NOT on the compatibility list, but as it stands at the moment the drives appear to work fine, plus the data on them has (so far) been intact.
At the back (right side) of the DNS-6040M you will see the motherboard that controls everything. The extreme right hand side there is one stick of pc133 memory (128MB), plus the processor in the DNS-6040M is a Socket 370 Intel Celeron 733FSB 66Mhz~133Mhz. Clearly D-Link has found a good use for older PC components!
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